Customer Reviews

Trailways Buses 1936-2001 Photo Archive

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This book was a gift for my husband's birthday. He was a driver for Tamiami Trailways (before Continental bought them out) many years ago. It was his life-long dream from childhood. He was so thrilled to receive this gift. The photos were so very real. They were true to life. The information contained in the book was accurate. He has spent much time reminiscing about his driving years. Imagine how excited he was to see one of the very buses he drove in the book (it was a T2996 on page 102). The book has brought him much joy.

This is far more than a picture book of Trailways buses; it is a gold mine for anyone fond of intercity bus travel or yearning to learn more about the history of the bus industry. The photo collection itself is superb -- prized as much for the historical value of background scenery as for the buses themselves. Through the captions, Luke delivers a remarkably detailed sumary of how Trailways evolved from a collection of small regional companies, to a national powerhouse (Trailways, Inc.), then back again. At the end are some reprinted Trailways schedules and promotional brochures from days of yore, further enriching the experience.

I was raised the son of a Trailways baggage handler, and spent many days viewing America from the rear of Silver Eagles emblazoned with "Go Big Red, Go Trailways," rolling out of Dallas to destinations from Denver to Destin, Omaha to San Antonio. But it wasn't until I finished this book that I had any clue of the rich and complex history of the Trailways organization, or that so many bus companies besides Continental (later, Trailways, Inc.) carried the Trailways banner -- and still do. The photos themselves brought back floods of memories of the diesel smell, the pay TVs in the terminals, sunrises along Gulf coast causeways, the red tail lights turning slowly across the gravel in some nameless Mississippi town at 2 a.m. -- all those images and and more for a kid travelling Trailways in its 70s and early 80s heyday. Anyone else who fondly recalls youthful Trailways trips will love this little book.

This book is a masterful job of covering how the buses used by the National Trailways Bus System (now the Trailways Transportation System) evolved from what were essentially passenger bodies mounted on truck chassis to the modern highway cruisers of today. It presents the (Greyhound)Scenicruiser look a like bus produced by Beck in Queen City Trailways, of which only 12 such buses were ever built followed by the more common offerings of GMC, American Eagle, and MCI. A well done book,.

I bought this book as a gift for my husband for Christmas. It really made a hit! He is a bus enthusiast for sure. The pictures are excellent and there is alot of history in this book. If you like buses, you will love this book.